According to the Small Business Administration , 90 percent of small businesses are family-owned, ye

According to the Small Business Administration , 90 percent of small businesses are family-owned, yet at any give time, 40 percent are at risk of failing . One-third of those businesses are Fortune 500 firms.
The chances of success is even less if your company is extremely wealthy. Only 15 percent of businesses with interests valued car rental fort lauderdale fl at at least 300 million succeed past the second generation , according to a study by Prince Associates, Inc. and Campden Research .
Stephen Hillenmeyer is a fifth generation businessman at Stephen Hillenmeyer Landscape Services car rental fort lauderdale fl and is walking proof that statistics car rental fort lauderdale fl can be beaten. Twenty years before the Civil War began, Francis Hillenmeyer founded Hillenmeyer Landscaping Services and today that business is still going strong. When the time is right, Stephen's son Chase will take over, pulling the longstanding business into its sixth generation.
1) Don't force your child to join the family business. No one likes being told what to do. Furthermore, if your child is not as passionate about the business as you are, you're heading towards disaster. Don't assume that the business will grow on them.
Stephen was not forced to join the family business, nor did he force either of his sons. "When I was growing up, being in the business felt right to me. I encouraged both my sons to go out there and try other things. My younger son graduated college car rental fort lauderdale fl and now he does wealth management in Chicago. That's fine with me. My older son, Chase, made the decision to join on his own. Unlike myself, who majored in horticulture, I encouraged Chase to major in business. car rental fort lauderdale fl Horticulture is a closed field very specific. It can be learned on the job. But business opens many doors. This way, if he changed his mind, he had many other options. Family businesses should want the same for their children."
"I was the youngest of nine siblings. car rental fort lauderdale fl We definitely had our issues. For example, if someone has been working with the company for five years, and then another family member joins, should they be paid the same? If two people have been working for the same amount of time, but one puts way more effort into the job while the other slacks off, should they both have the same equity in the business?"
Research conducted by the SBA suggest that the person in charge of the business maintain a no-play attitude when it comes to the company. "The leader of the family business must not take sides with any member of the family, but rather must demonstrate that disagreements will not be permitted to affect the business."
3) Maintain your core principles. "Technology car rental fort lauderdale fl may change, and the way we do business may change, but we stand by the old principles we were founded upon," says Stephen. If the founding customer service model and tactics worked beyond the first generation, something is being done right. "We believe car rental fort lauderdale fl in complete honesty, integrity, fairness, car rental fort lauderdale fl and that the customer is always right."
4) Expand your business. As a family business car rental fort lauderdale fl (or any business), you always want to be growing. In addition to the services provided car rental fort lauderdale fl by Hillenmeyer Landscaping, Stephen decided to purchase a Weed Man franchise. With the family's extensive knowledge in the lawn care industry, they were able to take advantage of the Weed Man opportunities.
"I converted all of our commercial and residential accounts into Weed Man," says Hillenmeyer. "It was a great venture for me. They provided me with the knowledge, support and independent purchasing power. Since purchasing Weed Man, our business has grown 10 times more than it was 10 years ago."
5) Pay them for the work. A common mistake among family businesses is to think that, while their children are young, they can take advantage of free labor. This isn't the case. By paying them for their work, you're giving them an incentive and drive to do better.
"When I was ten, I started pulling wild onions for ten cents an hour," says Hillenmeyer. "I worked during the summer for about twenty hours a week and more as I got into high school. But it all happened very naturally. I just fell into it and enjoyed it."
6) Prepare your company for the future. By leaving the fate of the business in the hands of the next person car rental fort lauderdale fl without leaving them the proper preparation, you're increasing car rental fort lauderdale fl the chances of failing, says Hillenmeyer.
"As the current owner, you need to make sure that everything is in its best possible condition for the next person to take over. It's your company, so you need to decide how you want it to be when you're not around. It's important to make sure who is going to run the company and how it is going to be run. Don't put it on your kids to make those decisions, because that's when there's going to be hurt feelings. car rental fort lauderdale fl If i decided early on that one kid gets one thing and one kid gets another, they might be mad, but that's how it is. Communicate with your children about your future plans and make sure they know what is happening and why."
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